The End Of A Wonderful Storm
by KitKat1122
Summary: Xerxes can no longer hold himself together - even with the comfort of his faithful Liam. The grey sky has reluctantly returned, though missing the beauty of what was a wonderful storm. Twoshot. Liam (Reim) x Break.
1. The Rain

To whoever the guest who wrote a review:

Oh my god, you frickin made my day! I wasn't expecting any good reactions to this since I pretty much threw half of the plot in Pandora Hearts out the window but... your reaction was just so beautiful, I'm sorry for breaking your hearrttttt ;v; please forgive me

* * *

Liam slowly creaked the door open, trying his best not to wake Break, who was fast asleep in his arms. It had been Liam's great idea to sit at his desk and file paper late at night whilst Break leaned on his shoulder quietly munching on sweets. Well. It was a great idea at the time. It was peaceful. Xerxes wasn't half as annoying as people made him out to be when he was alone with him. In a lot of ways, Xerxes reminded Liam of a small puppy. Like one, he'd misbehave until you actually gave attention or played along with whatever joke he made.

"Shuddup, Liam…" Xerxes quietly mumbled, motioning his hand as if he was shooing someone away. Liam, who if he was in a different situation, would have laughed, but the amount of cautiousness he was trying to take to make sure Break stayed asleep was absurd. Liam couldn't remember the last time Xerxes had actually slept. Yeah, he had seen him napping - but for no longer than half an hour. It was completely unhealthy for Break's own body and mind.

After a couple of minutes of wandering in the darkness of Xerxes' room, he finally found the bed, gently placing him down. He was responded with several mumbles before he was suddenly tugged under the covers he had only just put over Xerxes.

"Wh… What are you doing?" Liam asked, though in truth it sounded more like a statement.

"Using you as a pillow." He quickly replied, wrapping his arms around Liam's torso and burying his face in the taller man's chest.

"There's a pillow right there."

"But this one's warmer. And it smells quite nice."

"I'm an 'it' now?" Liam asked, looking down at Break, surprised not to hear any response from Break other than a soft chuckle. After a few minutes of silence, he realised he didn't mind being there. It was warm, unlike his office. He slowly wrapped his arms around the white-haired male, to which the man did sound content, maybe even happy, that he did so. As Liam began to fall asleep himself, he heard Xerxes voice softly speaking, though he kept his face hidden from the taller male.

"Y'know… when dogs grow old… and when their final days are coming – they know it… and they change. They quiet down. They behave. They seek slightly more attention and warmth to comfort themselves. And then they sleep." He paused, curling up slightly closer to Liam.

"And it's like the end of a wonderful storm. So peaceful and quiet." Liam looked down at him, but found Xerxes determined to hide his face well.

"Can I… ask you something, Liam?" The man said, though Liam was becoming more and more concerned about the older male. He was being too gentle. Xerxes could be gentle but… this was just way too out of the ordinary.

"Well… it's not really a question. But…" he paused for a moment, sighing.

"Well, I've liked you for a while now. And I can only hope you might reciprocate similar feelings." He finished, wrapping his arms tighter around Liam and burying his face deeper as if he did not want to hear Liam's response.

"Look up at me." Liam quickly demanded, though it took Xerxes a while to get himself to reluctantly look up at the brunette male. Liam gently cupped his face, slowly leaning in and connecting their lips. Neither of them wanted the kiss to end, it was so comforting. Xerxes lips were soft and, despite being slightly dry from his lack of any ability to take care of himself, they were delicate. They both slowly pulled away, Liam immediately forcing Break into an embrace, who was now nuzzling his face in the crook of Liam's neck.

"Thank you…" The shorter male mumbled, his voice sounding almost broken. And hearing this, Liam on instinct wrapped his arms tighter around Xerxes, who now had his face once again hidden against Liam's chest. He felt tears soaking his shirt, and Liam brought his hand to cup Breaks face and urge the man to let him look at him.

"Why are you-"

"I am a dog growing old, Liam." He shut his eyes to force the tears to stop and hide his face in Liam's shirt again. "I'm running out. I don't have much left in me." He muttered, trying to stop the growing pain in his chest. It ached. So much. The small male remained silent for a few seconds, lightly gasping to catch his breath.

"I'm sorry. I'm… a bit of a mess." Xerxes finished, feeling his voice starting to break. Liam embraced Break softly, trying to think of something to comfort him. Anything.

"Please tell me how to make you feel better." Liam said, finding himself completely lost. How do you comfort someone who's dying? And this wasn't just anyone, Break was smart – saying something like 'you won't die', would only be upsetting him even more.

"I don't know… Just… stay a while longer." Xerxes replied, the tears gradually slowing down, though the pain in his chest hadn't.

"I'll stay here forever if you need me to." Liam responded, bringing a hand to stroke Break's hair, gently combing through the small knots. It managed to calm him down. It was strange seeing Break like this. He was normally so… strong? No, he couldn't call it strong. It was almost determined. A determination to stay alive, to push 'till the end so he could finish what he had come to do. And now, everything he had held back for years was just spilling out like the rumbling of a storm.

"If you can't keep yourself alive, then I'll be the one to keep you alive - for as long as you want to be. I love you, Kevin." Liam finally said, feeling Break almost immediately relaxing in his arms with a soft sigh.

"It's so very nice to hear my name again..." he muttered in reply, with a tone of voice that made it sound like he was admitting defeat.

It was the last time Liam heard his voice again.


	2. The Thunder

ahhh, I felt like the last chapter missed something and so this was created.

* * *

Life without Kevin was strangely not all that different.

Sure, it was quieter, and maybe the rooms felt a little more empty. But nothing had really changed.

It was a weird sensation. The once cheerful and chirpy man had vanished. Without suggesting an even a goodbye to anyone other than Liam. Not even Shannon as he would've thought. And while Liam had felt a emptiness in his body and a heavy weight in his heart, not a thing had changed.

The sun still rose.

The rain came and went.

Life went on, though maybe in a little more silence for Liam.

He couldn't deny that he missed the sparky snickers of the idiot and his random appearances out of cupboards and beneath floor tiles. But he couldn't say he was upset either – he had uncharacteristically cried the day after Kevin's small funeral, yes, but he no longer felt the need to cry anymore. He was sure of it that Kevin was far happier now, out of pain and smiling from wherever he existed now. And that wishful hope was enough to keep Liam happy.

Though when the harder-worker did get lonely and tired at times, he wished maybe he'd gotten a few happier and intimate memories with Kevin to relish in the current day. There was of course no point in wishing such things, since those chances were too far to ever reach. Yet, it still would've been nice.

Besides, who knows, life in this twisted world seemed to always sneak up on Liam with strange surprises. And if that strange surprise ever so happened to be Liam waking up to find Kevin sitting in his office, then he'd probably chuckle and say:

'The difference between you and an old dying dog is simple – you never really leave.'


End file.
